The Mold of Writing For Emelie and Alice Örebro Studies in Literary History and Criticism 10 Erik van Ooijen The Mold of Writing Style and Structure in Strindberg’s Chamber Plays For Emelie and Alice Örebro Studies in Literary History and Criticism 10 Erik van Ooijen The Mold of Writing Style and Structure in Strindberg’s Chamber Plays Abstract Erik van Ooijen (2010): The Mold of Writing. Style and Structure in Strindberg’s Chamber Plays. Örebro Studies in Literary History and Criticism 10, 216 pp. The thesis examines the five plays published by August Strindberg under the label of Chamber Plays: Stormy Weather, The Burned Lot, The Ghost Sonata, The Pelican (all 1907), and The Black Glove (1909). It takes its point of departure in a particular aspect of Strindberg’s way of writing as he actually describes it him- self: during the act of deliberate composing, a productive fever tends to emerge bringing an element of chance to the work. The thesis defines the effect produced by this “fever” as the tension generated between, on the one hand, structure or form, and, on the other hand, style or writing. These concepts are associated with a tradition, primarily in French literary theory, which pays attention to what is described as a friction between the general linguistic aspect of literature (genres, recurring and recognizable patterns) and the individual aspect (the peculiar and idiosyncratic style of an author embodied in his material habitus). Thus the ambi- guity found in the thesis’ title: the “mold” alludes partly to the stereotypes or ma- trices of language, partly to the “fungi” that, according to Strindberg, could be considered an adequate image for writing; the poetic work, says Strindberg, grows like mold from the author’s brain. Theoretical questions, primarily of a formal and interpretational nature, are continuously discussed since one of the main points is that the Strindbergian way of writing restricts what kind of interpretation may be given his works. The even- tual contrast between form and interpretation is, furthermore, related to a general theme developed throughout the Chamber Plays concerning the meaning of life. It is stressed that the five plays show distinct formal and thematic differences; thus, a separate chapter is dedicated to each of them. The chapter on Stormy Weather examines the structural use of focus and the hierarchy of character- functions related to the centering on a protagonist. The Burned Lot is discussed from the concept of a ruin to describe how a multitude of conflicting forms come © Erik van Ooijen, 2010 together to produce a fragmentary result. The Ghost Sonata is described in terms of simulation: while Strindberg alludes to certain dramatic patterns, he also dis- Title: The Mold of Writing torts them whereby new effects are created. The chapter on The Pelican explores the temporal flow of the play and how it relates to writing. The thesis ends with a Publisher: Örebro University 2010 discussion of The Black Glove and its relation to the preceding Chamber Plays www.publications.oru.se and also to the Strindbergian oeuvre. The concept of weed is used to distinguish a recurring element in Strindberg’s work as well as in his worldview. Editor: Jesper Johanson Throughout the thesis, the discussion is consistently related to previous studies [email protected] and commentaries on the plays. Printer: Intellecta Infolog, Kållered 01/2010 Keywords: August Strindberg, chamber play, literary form, writing, focus, ruin as form, simulation, speed, weed as form issn 1650-5840 isbn 978-91-7668-713-0 Abstract Erik van Ooijen (2010): The Mold of Writing. Style and Structure in Strindberg’s Chamber Plays. Örebro Studies in Literary History and Criticism 10, 216 pp. The thesis examines the five plays published by August Strindberg under the label of Chamber Plays: Stormy Weather, The Burned Lot, The Ghost Sonata, The Pelican (all 1907), and The Black Glove (1909). It takes its point of departure in a particular aspect of Strindberg’s way of writing as he actually describes it him- self: during the act of deliberate composing, a productive fever tends to emerge bringing an element of chance to the work. The thesis defines the effect produced by this “fever” as the tension generated between, on the one hand, structure or form, and, on the other hand, style or writing. These concepts are associated with a tradition, primarily in French literary theory, which pays attention to what is described as a friction between the general linguistic aspect of literature (genres, recurring and recognizable patterns) and the individual aspect (the peculiar and idiosyncratic style of an author embodied in his material habitus). Thus the ambi- guity found in the thesis’ title: the “mold” alludes partly to the stereotypes or ma- trices of language, partly to the “fungi” that, according to Strindberg, could be considered an adequate image for writing; the poetic work, says Strindberg, grows like mold from the author’s brain. Theoretical questions, primarily of a formal and interpretational nature, are continuously discussed since one of the main points is that the Strindbergian way of writing restricts what kind of interpretation may be given his works. The even- tual contrast between form and interpretation is, furthermore, related to a general theme developed throughout the Chamber Plays concerning the meaning of life. It is stressed that the five plays show distinct formal and thematic differences; thus, a separate chapter is dedicated to each of them. The chapter on Stormy Weather examines the structural use of focus and the hierarchy of character- functions related to the centering on a protagonist. The Burned Lot is discussed from the concept of a ruin to describe how a multitude of conflicting forms come © Erik van Ooijen, 2010 together to produce a fragmentary result. The Ghost Sonata is described in terms of simulation: while Strindberg alludes to certain dramatic patterns, he also dis- Title: The Mold of Writing torts them whereby new effects are created. The chapter on The Pelican explores the temporal flow of the play and how it relates to writing. The thesis ends with a Publisher: Örebro University 2010 discussion of The Black Glove and its relation to the preceding Chamber Plays www.publications.oru.se and also to the Strindbergian oeuvre. The concept of weed is used to distinguish a recurring element in Strindberg’s work as well as in his worldview. Editor: Jesper Johanson Throughout the thesis, the discussion is consistently related to previous studies [email protected] and commentaries on the plays. Printer: Intellecta Infolog, Kållered 01/2010 Keywords: August Strindberg, chamber play, literary form, writing, focus, ruin as form, simulation, speed, weed as form issn 1650-5840 isbn 978-91-7668-713-0 Contents Preface 9 1. Introduction: Strindberg and the Mold of Writing 11 Entering through a winder: An introductory example 11 Strindberg’s poetics of writing 14 Style and structure as aspects of literature 19 The difference of the Chamber Plays 26 2. The I in the Pyramid: The Focal Order of Stormy Weather 31 Introduction: Two structural oppositions as point of departure 31 Preliminary notes on dramatic focus 33 Establishing the opposition: Two initial examples of focal ordering 39 Focus and space 43 Focus and unreliability 47 Focus and action 55 Focus and villainy 60 Leaving the subject (without deconstructing it first): Final notes on a few stylistic glitches 64 3. Among the Ruins of a Story: The Multitude of Forms in The Burned Lot 71 Introduction: Hotchpotch poetics 71 Ruins and rhizomes: Initial notes on the architecture of the play 74 The story of an outsider 78 The crime story 92 The stories of a wedding and a funeral 107 An intertextual story? 112 4. Ghosts in the Machine: The Ghost Sonata as Simulation of Form 121 Introduction: A parody of a play 121 From parody to simulation: for a conceptual starting point 124 Simulating the continuity of space and time 128 Simulating protagonist-structures 133 Simulating exposition 142 Simulating an end: Final remarks 150 5. The Flight of The Pelican: Smooth Temporality in Chamber Play Op. 4 155 Introduction: Smooth structures 155 Three aspects of literature of relevance for a discussion on temporality 160 Four problems of temporal relations 164 Concluding remarks: The need for speed 180 6. A Weed amongst the Wheat: The Black Glove, the Chamber Plays, and the Strindbergian Oeuvre 183 Introduction: Longing for light-hearted poetry 183 Flowers on an espalier: Notes on the structure of the play 187 The prickly thistle: Notes on the theme of the play 191 The Black Glove and the Chamber Plays as genre 194 Conclusion: On the organizational principles of the Strindbergian oeuvre 199 References 209 Index 217 Contents Preface 9 1. Introduction: Strindberg and the Mold of Writing 11 Entering through a winder: An introductory example 11 Strindberg’s poetics of writing 14 Style and structure as aspects of literature 19 The difference of the Chamber Plays 26 2. The I in the Pyramid: The Focal Order of Stormy Weather 31 Introduction: Two structural oppositions as point of departure 31 Preliminary notes on dramatic focus 33 Establishing the opposition: Two initial examples of focal ordering 39 Focus and space 43 Focus and unreliability 47 Focus and action 55 Focus and villainy 60 Leaving the subject (without deconstructing it first): Final notes on a few stylistic glitches 64 3. Among the Ruins of a Story: The Multitude of Forms in The Burned Lot 71 Introduction: Hotchpotch poetics 71 Ruins and rhizomes: Initial notes on the architecture of the play 74 The story of an outsider 78 The crime story 92 The stories of a wedding and a funeral 107 An intertextual story? 112 4.